


The Play Date

by orphan_account



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Mileven, Mileven au, Stranger Things AU, except those kids were from other relationships, idk how to word it, mileven with kids, minor lumax, playgrounds r great, the summary fckin sucks but yeah, tjey live in chicago is cool, you’ll see i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-25 03:33:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19737466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Mike and El are single parents who only want to keep their kids happy. When a chance encounter at the park leaves them both wondering about the other, will they realize happiness for their kids and themselves is within each other?——Aka a mileven parents AU





	1. The One Where They Meet

The playground is nearly empty. It’s a stark contrast to the bustling streets of Chicago, only a few feet away.

The times when the place is quiet are El’s favorite times to go, when she can be comfortable and trust in the fact that her son, Eddie, won’t get lost or abducted or worse. Eddie’s almost five, and growing more mature everyday, so she shouldn’t be worrying about him as much as she does. El can’t help it, though. Her life has not been an easy one, and she does not want that to be the case for Eddie.

After the horrible boyfriend who had gotten El pregnant ran for the hills, it had been hard for her to keep going. Yet, she did. For Eddie. Thank god her little boy did not come out at all like that son of a bitch. He’s the spitting image of her, with curly brown hair and honey brown eyes. Honestly, she thinks it would be harder if he looked like his father. 

Even though El has tried her damndest to give Eddie the best life possible, she still wishes he had a good, solid father figure who he could depend on, and who could love him to no end. ‘Grandpa Hop’, as Eddie calls him, can only do so much.

“Mama, can I play with Lucy? She’s my new best friend.”

El looks down at her small, curly haired son with surprise. A small girl with a wide smile stands next to him, rocking back and forth on her feet. Eddie looks at his mother with only what she can describe as ‘puppy eyes’.

“Of course, baby. It’s nice to meet you, Lucy,” El leans forward, putting her hand out. Lucy shakes it happily, giggling. “Go play. Be careful.”

“Thanks, Mama!” He calls over his shoulder as he and Lucy go running off to the playscape. 

El laughs, watching the excited children chase each other around. They really have become the best of friends in such a short time, she notices. The only thing missing is- oh god, where are Lucy’s parents?

Looking around, she finds a man who can’t be far from her own age, who has dark curly hair and dark eyes. 

El registers two things in her mind: 

One, that he has an eerie resemblance to Lucy, with her dark eyes and raven hair. The only difference between them is that there’s no curls on Lucy’s head and the fact that he looks tall, even when he’s sitting down on a park bench, while Lucy’s even smaller than Eddie.

Two, this man is absolutely beautiful. 

The man is watching the children with a small smile on his face when El sits on the bench next to him.

“Lucy’s yours?” She asks, watching him with a grin.

He jumps slightly, not having noticed her. He looks towards the children, then looks at her.. “She is. I assume the fine young man she’s with is yours?”

“You assume correct. Eddie has informed me that they are now best friends, by the way.”

The man laughs, then looks at her with a twinkle in his eye. “I’m Mike Wheeler.”

“Jane Hopper. Everyone calls me El, though.”

They shake hands, grinning. El’s captivated by that twinkle in Mike’s eye, unable to look away.

They silently watch their kids run around, until Mike shakes his head, his expression slightly in awe. “I haven’t seen Lucy get along this well with someone else in a while. At all, actually. She’s quite shy.”

El thinks of the small girl who seemed so excited and happy with Eddie. It’s hard to imagine her being shy, of all things. “Wow. She seems like the opposite.”

“Yeah. Maybe it’s just Eddie, he’s making her open up,“ Mike says, smiling. 

El laughs. “Eddie does have that effect. He’s just a little fireball of energy. I don’t know where he gets it from, really.”

“He seems a lot like you. Maybe it’s just the appearance, but there’s something about you two that’s so similar.”

“Well, I’d much rather have him be like me than his father,” El laughs bitterly.

She immediately realizes that’s a weird thing to say to someone you’ve just met, and opens her mouth to apologize, but there’s a warm hand on her shoulder and suddenly she can’t find the words.

“Well, I don’t know what the situation is, but if you want to talk about it...” Mike trails off, blushing slightly. “I think I’m in a similar position, so I might understand.”

“Wow. Thanks, Mike. No one’s... really... um,” El looks out at the playground, slightly embarrassed of her outburst and needing to look at anything besides the cute guy next to her. “Eddie’s father left way before he was born. He wasn’t a good guy. A real asshole, actually. Once he found out I was pregnant, he ran off. Never saw him again, thank god.”

Mike mumbles, “Piece of shit” and El feels immensely better.

“What about you?” She asks curiously. “Lucy’s mother? You don’t have to tell me, obviously, but if you want to.”

His warm hand leaves her shoulder and she yearns for his touch again, surprising herself.

“Lucy’s mom wasn’t a horrible person, but she wasn’t great, either. Just... kind of a shitty girlfriend. Like, she wouldn’t support me or my interests and hated my friends. An alcoholic, too.” El puts her hand on his shoulder this time, and Mike smiles at her gratefully. “She eventually got pregnant, wanted to put the baby up for adoption, but I took her in myself. Lucy’s mother wants nothing to do with her. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, though, so I wouldn’t change anything for the world.”

“Well, we’ve both got piece of shit exes who left us with the best things in our lives, so hallelujah to that, I guess.”

They laugh, exclaiming, “Hallelujah!” at random intervals, making them laugh harder.

Two small voices echo “Hallelujah!” from the huge yellow slide. Mike and El look at each other, then at the slide, then at each other again, and burst into uncontrollable laughter.

“Our... children are... an absolute riot,” El says, breathless.

As if summoned, Eddie and Lucy run up to their parents.

“Mama, can Lucy come over? I want to show her my toys,” Eddie pleads, taking his mother’s hand in his own small one. 

She ruffles his hair affectionately.  
“Aunt Max is coming over tonight, buddy. Maybe soon, though, Lucy can come over. How’s that, Mike?”

“Please, please, please, pa?” Lucy asks, clutching her dad’s arm. 

“I don’t see why not,” Mike says, looking over at El. “I guess it’s a play date, then.”

El smiles. “I guess it is.”


	2. The One Where El Worries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El talks to Max. Eddie is excited, El is nervous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone!! sorry this chapter’s kinda short. i hope u like it :))

“He seems like the absolute package.” Max Mayfield, El’s best friend, says from El’s kitchen.

El sighs semi-dreamily. “I mean, yeah. He went through the same thing I did, and he’s single, and he’s cute, and he’s sweet and oh my god I’m gonna fall in love aren’t I?”

Max hands her a mug filled with hot chocolate, smirking. “If you don’t I’ll be disappointed in you.”

They’re sitting on El’s couch, watching their favorite movies while Eddie sleeps in the next room. It’s only been a few hours since she met him, but El can’t stop thinking about Mike. Max isn’t quite helping her take her mind off of him.

“Marry him.”

“Max!”

“Do it, Hopper. You know you want to.”

“Shut up, Maxine.”

Max wiggles her eyebrows at El. “You obviously like him. Ask him out. When’s he coming over, anyways?”

“Next Friday.”

“So I’ll come over after. Ask him if he wants to go out to dinner. I’ll babysit. His kid, too. I’m willing to do _anything_.”

El rolls her eyes. “You’re so dramatic.”

She doesn’t say no to the idea, however. Mike’s laugh keeps playing over in her head, and it’s drowning out any coherent thoughts.

Goddamnit. She really is going to fall for him.

——

El paces in the living room, whispering “Hallelujah” under her breath.

It’s Friday. Mike and Lucy are due to arrive any minute, so obviously, El’s freaking out. She spent an hour picking out what to wear (a light pink shirt with light wash jeans), then had no time to do her hair so was left with a slightly curled mess. Then, Eddie decided he wanted to wear his dinosaur onesie instead of the clothes his mother had carefully picked out for him, which led to chaos. El eventually won that fight, but it had been a very stressful morning indeed. It’s not possible for El to be more on edge than she is.

Too bad her son doesn’t seem to share her nervousness.

He looks at her curiously from the couch. “Mama, are you okay?”

The only response he gets is a tight smile from his mother, who is seemingly unable to speak any words besides “Mike” and “Hallelujah”.

“I’m going to show Lucy all my toys. Can we have eggos for a snack with Lucy and Mr. Mike? I like eggos. I wonder if they like eggos too.”

At last, El stops pacing and collapses on the couch next to Eddie. “Bud, if they don’t like eggos, we’re kicking them out.”

He giggles, and she laughs along with him-

Until the buzzer of El’s little apartment rings. The mother and son duo freeze in their positions.

“It’s go time,” El whispers. Eddie screeches like a dinosaur (the onesie inspired him) and they both scramble to the buzzer. “Who is it?”

Mike’s voice comes out of the speaker, slightly staticky, but enthusiastic as always. “Mike and Lucy!”

El quickly buzzes them in, her heart going a million miles an hour.

“Woohoo!” Eddie yells, grinning. “Lucy’s coming, and we’re gonna eat eggos! Hallelujah!”

Hallelujah indeed.

There’s a knock at the door.

Before El can react, Eddie pulls it open, yelling, “Lucy!”

The small girl barrels towards him in a hug, and they giggle, holding tight to each other.

El pulls the door open all the way, and immediately thinks, _holy_ Jesus. _Mike_ _looks_ so _cute._

He’s wearing a light blue shirt that only accentuates the sparkle in his eyes. There’s a little smile on his face that grows when he sees El, making her heart flutter.

“Hi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oop. a cliffhanger, sorry not sorry. the next chapter will be the pLaY dAte i promise. i wanted to put something in about how cute el and eddie are so there. bye thanks for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed the first chapter. if people like this, i’ll update soon so let me know what you think!!


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